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Hooded merganser
The hooded merganser is a striking and compact diving duck native to North America, where it inhabits wooded ponds, lakes, slow‑moving rivers, and wetlands. Males are instantly recognisable by their bold black‑and‑white plumage and a large, fan‑shaped crest that can be raised or lowered. Females are brown with a distinctive shaggy crest, offering excellent camouflage among reeds and branches.
You can find our pair of hooded mergansers in the exhibit next to the fishing cat, sharing its enclosure with black-winged stilts and white-cheeked turacos.
Class:
Aves
Order:
Anseriformes
Family:
Anatidae
About the hooded merganser
This species is a specialist piscivore, diving beneath the surface to catch small fish, aquatic invertebrates, and tadpoles. Hooded mergansers have narrow, serrated bills that help them grip slippery prey, and their extraordinary underwater vision makes them highly efficient hunters.
Hooded mergansers are usually seen in pairs or small flocks, especially outside the breeding season. They nest in tree cavities near water, often using old woodpecker holes. Females lay their eggs in high‑placed hollows, and newly hatched ducklings make a daring leap from the nest to the forest floor before following their mother to water.
Conservation
Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, hooded mergansers remain relatively stable across North America, although some populations are affected by loss of natural nest cavities and wetland degradation. Conservation efforts such as nest box programmes and sustainable wetland management support breeding success and help maintain healthy numbers in the wild.